Unisa online - College of Education

Prof Dzvimbo thanks the Unisa Council and senior management of Unisa for giving him the opportunity to establish and launch the College of Education

Unisa constantly provides opportunities to address the challenges facing South Africa and the continent. So it comes as no surprise that the launch of the College of Education has been well received by all concerned stakeholders, from government to the public and private sectors.

Welcoming guests to the launch, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Mandla Makhanya said Unisa should always strive for growth, development, invigoration and renewal. He said CEDU was an example of this, as from its conception, there was cognisance of the realities of education in South Africa and Africa, and the challenges that need to be overcome in order to achieve the desired outcomes.

He said higher education institutions continue to see themselves as distinct from the other tiers of education, and he believes that higher education institutions should form part of a coherent and integrated system.

He added that Unisa is actively pursuing partnerships, collaborations and agreements with a broad range of stakeholders including government, sister institutions, business, the public and private sectors, and local and international entities and institutions, with the aim of sourcing funding, and sharing and exchanging resources, capacity and expertise. “It has been quite instructive to see just what can be achieved when heads are put together, resources are pooled and goals are shared and common. Ultimately, we do have a common goal, and that is the growth and development of South Africa.”

Prof Makhanya said Unisa, which has one of the largest teacher education footprints in the country, has always been at the forefront of training and development in the education sector, with 50% of the country’s current crop of teachers coming from the institution. He also said there is a shortage of teachers and that the country is losing teachers faster than it is gaining them.

In addition, there is a large number of existing teaching staff who need to improve their qualifications and expertise and CEDU aims to address those challenges as it seeks to produce top quality teachers for the country. “I believe that this college has understood very clearly the need to be a part of a system that adopts a holistic approach to higher education delivery and I look forward with anticipation to the impact that its graduates will have on our society as the college grows from strength-to-strength.”

Executive Dean: CEDU, Prof Kuzvinetsa Dzvimbo thanked the Unisa Council and senior management of Unisa for giving this once in a life time opportunity to establish and launch CEDU. He said the challenges facing the education system in South Africa and the continent demand a re-imagining of the study, teaching and research of education as a discipline. “We all know that education is pivotal to the socio-economic development of our society because education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself.”

He said the main focus of CEDU will be on all the major disciplines in the school curriculum and the Further Education and Training phase with a particular focus on language education, mathematics, science, inclusive education, technology and environmental education, early childhood development, curriculum studies and instruction, educational foundations and school leadership and management. “We intend to train and educate a creative and inventive professional teacher and school manager who has the requisite pedagogical content knowledge, a value system located in an African context, in terms of its history, present, philosophy and epistemology, and beliefs, norms, and attitudes.”

Prof Dzvimbo also thanked former Deans, Deputy Deans and Directors of the former Faculty of Education and School of Education for their commitment and foresight.

Other speakers included Dr Diane Parker from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and Prof Hlengiwe Mkhize, Deputy Minister of DHET. Prof Mkhize said she was really grateful to Unisa for establishing CEDU. She spoke about the challenges and criticism facing education in South Africa and said the answers were likely to come from initiatives such as this one.

Guests were entertained to music by the Kgaphamadi Secondary School Choir and the legendary Yvonne Chaka Chaka, who even got the academics off their feet and dancing, as well as insightful praise poetry by Dakalo Ramalisa.